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TheLittleLady
Guest
My husband (he is so devoted to our mini-doxie that it is amusing) has put his foot down and says “no hot dog costume”. Guess what I am buying for Halloween 
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MaryEstelle2
Guest
That is what happened to my brother’s pet Duck. My other brother thought he was some kind of mountain man(boy) and spread it with a homemade spear. We did have roast duck that was pretty good. I had a 'pet crawdaddy. He got a hold of it boiled it and ate it. Out of 6 brothers, Pete was the wild one.
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JohnPaulCabral1
Guest
Ingredients
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder, finely chopped nuts, and/or toasted coconut, for coating truffles
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
Directions
Place the 10 ounces of chocolate and butter in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, and repeat this process 1 more time. Set aside.
Heat the heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the melted chocolate mixture; let stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently, starting in the middle of bowl and working in concentric circles until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and creamy. Gently stir in the brandy. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Using a melon baller, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Place the cocoa powder, nuts, and/or toasted coconut each in its own pie pan and set aside.
In the meantime, place the 8 ounces of chocolate into a medium mixing bowl which is sitting on top of a heating pad lined bowl, with the heating pad set to medium. Depending on the heating pad, you may need to adjust the heat up or down. Stirring the chocolate occasionally, test the temperature of the chocolate and continue heating until it reaches 90 to 92 degrees F; do not allow the chocolate to go above 94 degrees F. If you do, the coating will not have a nice snap to it when you bite into the chocolate. Once you have reached the optimal temperature, adjust the heat to maintain it.
Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and shape into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Use powder-free vinyl or latex gloves, if desired.
Dip an ice cream scoop into the chocolate and turn upside down to remove excess chocolate. Place truffles 1 at time into the scoop and roll around until coated. Then place the truffle into the dish with either the cocoa powder, nuts or coconut. Move the truffle around to coat; leave truffle in the coating for 10 to 15 seconds before removing. In the meantime, continue placing the chocolate-coated truffles in the cocoa or other secondary coating. After 10 to 15 seconds, remove the truffle to a parchment lined sheet pan. Repeat until all truffles are coated. Allow to set in a cool dry place for at least 1 hour; or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Truffles are best when served at room temperature.
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder, finely chopped nuts, and/or toasted coconut, for coating truffles
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
Directions
Place the 10 ounces of chocolate and butter in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, and repeat this process 1 more time. Set aside.
Heat the heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the melted chocolate mixture; let stand for 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently, starting in the middle of bowl and working in concentric circles until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and creamy. Gently stir in the brandy. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Using a melon baller, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Place the cocoa powder, nuts, and/or toasted coconut each in its own pie pan and set aside.
In the meantime, place the 8 ounces of chocolate into a medium mixing bowl which is sitting on top of a heating pad lined bowl, with the heating pad set to medium. Depending on the heating pad, you may need to adjust the heat up or down. Stirring the chocolate occasionally, test the temperature of the chocolate and continue heating until it reaches 90 to 92 degrees F; do not allow the chocolate to go above 94 degrees F. If you do, the coating will not have a nice snap to it when you bite into the chocolate. Once you have reached the optimal temperature, adjust the heat to maintain it.
Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and shape into balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Use powder-free vinyl or latex gloves, if desired.
Dip an ice cream scoop into the chocolate and turn upside down to remove excess chocolate. Place truffles 1 at time into the scoop and roll around until coated. Then place the truffle into the dish with either the cocoa powder, nuts or coconut. Move the truffle around to coat; leave truffle in the coating for 10 to 15 seconds before removing. In the meantime, continue placing the chocolate-coated truffles in the cocoa or other secondary coating. After 10 to 15 seconds, remove the truffle to a parchment lined sheet pan. Repeat until all truffles are coated. Allow to set in a cool dry place for at least 1 hour; or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Truffles are best when served at room temperature.
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TheLittleLady
Guest
We all know someone in the “Instant Pot” electric slow cooker cult.
I own one, bought it because I grew up around pressure cookers and know what a tool they can be when used as they are meant to be used. Also, I am most days a suuuper lazy cook. My tip, below, is not for the “you can make the perfect puff pastry in your Instant Pot” clan. It is for normal, busy people.
Tip from the lazy pressure cooker lady.
Take a 3 lb bag of IQF boneless skinless chicken thighs directly from the deep freeze.
Put them in your Instant Pot, I have a 6 qt.
Cook on HIGH pressure for 20 minutes. Let them natural pressure release for 20 minutes. That is it, no added anything (not even water because the chicken has liquid injected into it, the chicken is going to melt before it comes to pressure so adding water will only serve to make the chicken a little bland.)
Shred the chicken when it is finished cooking. Use this with BBQ sauce on baked potatoes or buns, mix up as chicken salad, use it with pasta for a quick chicken spaghetti, with rice, freeze some of it for quick meals later. If you want to use it all for maybe chicken and rice, throw in a good amount of lemon pepper or your favorite seasoning blend. I like keeping it naked so it can slip into many costumes.
If you are afraid to try this, toss in a can of Rotel to make it the perfect tex mex chicken.
I own one, bought it because I grew up around pressure cookers and know what a tool they can be when used as they are meant to be used. Also, I am most days a suuuper lazy cook. My tip, below, is not for the “you can make the perfect puff pastry in your Instant Pot” clan. It is for normal, busy people.
Tip from the lazy pressure cooker lady.
Take a 3 lb bag of IQF boneless skinless chicken thighs directly from the deep freeze.
Put them in your Instant Pot, I have a 6 qt.
Cook on HIGH pressure for 20 minutes. Let them natural pressure release for 20 minutes. That is it, no added anything (not even water because the chicken has liquid injected into it, the chicken is going to melt before it comes to pressure so adding water will only serve to make the chicken a little bland.)
Shred the chicken when it is finished cooking. Use this with BBQ sauce on baked potatoes or buns, mix up as chicken salad, use it with pasta for a quick chicken spaghetti, with rice, freeze some of it for quick meals later. If you want to use it all for maybe chicken and rice, throw in a good amount of lemon pepper or your favorite seasoning blend. I like keeping it naked so it can slip into many costumes.
If you are afraid to try this, toss in a can of Rotel to make it the perfect tex mex chicken.
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Irishmom2
Guest
TheLittleLady, it really doesn’t sound like it could get any simpler than that! That is perfect for people that say they have no time to cook. Cooked chicken like you described is so versatile.
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pnewton
Guest
:fire:Tex-mex without jalapenos? Unthinkable.
Thanks for the info. I have never done the pressure cooker thing, though I grew up with it. I may look into that.
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oldgraymare2
Guest
Thanks for that great tip, TheLittleLady.
I saw one of these Insta Pots when we were out shopping, and I was telling my husband that I had heard nothing but great things about them and how versatile they are, and how they can do a little bit of everything–you can cook in it, brown foods in them, slow cook in them and pressure cook in them, too.
I saw one of these Insta Pots when we were out shopping, and I was telling my husband that I had heard nothing but great things about them and how versatile they are, and how they can do a little bit of everything–you can cook in it, brown foods in them, slow cook in them and pressure cook in them, too.
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Ann_Stanton
Guest
Where are the cats?
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MaryEstelle2
Guest
Did he ‘bite’ and buy you one?
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oldgraymare2
Guest
No…
I told him how nice I thought it was, and he’s always willing to get a nice kitchen appliance like that for me.
However, I already have a 6 qt. pressure cooker, and he got a really nice, new 6 qt. slow cooker for me that I “had my eye on,” for a really long time, so I think that I’m set for awhile.
We don’t have a lot of storage space either, so that’s another thing that I’m always keeping in mind, too.
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Irishmom2
Guest
Yeah, you can throw that chicken in the slow cooker too. Takes longer, but also good and useful for many recipes.
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oldgraymare2
Guest
I really love using a slow cooker.
I already have a smaller 4 qt. one, but I was looking for a larger one so that I can cook in larger quantities for us.
I like to have leftovers, or I also like to be able to cook in the event that you’re cooking for others and want to make a larger amount of food, too.
I love to use a slow cooker for stews, and soups and chilis, too.
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Irishmom2
Guest
I like to “cook ahead” and sort of prepare for the next day. Cook a few pounds of chicken for instance, then use some for a casserole the next day, freeze some for another time. I love having things I can pull out of the freezer and add fresh ingredients or pasta or other things to it. I love to cook, but mostly I love to create new recipes. 
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TheLittleLady
Guest
The slow cook - it’s a trap. No, just pressure cooking. You can sautee in the bottom before you pressure cook, that is the only browning.
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Milt
Guest
I just use ice cube trays.
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oldgraymare2
Guest
Thanks.
I’ll have to consider doing that, especially when I have some leftover lemons for example, and I’m not sure what I want to do with them, but I don’t feel like cooking or baking with them at the time.
Freezing the juice and then saving it as cubes would be a great idea.
I’ll have to consider doing that, especially when I have some leftover lemons for example, and I’m not sure what I want to do with them, but I don’t feel like cooking or baking with them at the time.
Freezing the juice and then saving it as cubes would be a great idea.
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ascetic
Guest
corn
chickpeas
black beans
celery (cut to 1/2 inch)
cherry tomatoes
chives
cilantro
diced onion (smaller amount of this)
olive oil & basalmic or Italian dressing
chickpeas
black beans
celery (cut to 1/2 inch)
cherry tomatoes
chives
cilantro
diced onion (smaller amount of this)
olive oil & basalmic or Italian dressing
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oldgraymare2
Guest
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!
This looks really good and refreshing! I am always especially looking for some new salad recipes.
This looks really good and refreshing! I am always especially looking for some new salad recipes.
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MaryEstelle2
Guest
I’ve been ‘playing’ with my basic bread recipe and bread machine. Today I used the fast mode and a touch of vanilla. It turned out oddly. It rose in the middle like a toadstool and was very funny looking. It tasted good. I think I will have it in the morning with grape jelly.
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oldgraymare2
Guest
That sounds good.
I tried experimenting with a box of cornbread mix one time, and I put some vanilla extract in the mix.
No, I would not recommend that combination of sweet and savory. It just didn’t go down that well. I’ll borrow your word odd here, because that’s how it tasted, but it wasn’t a good combination. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend anyone trying it.
I like to experiment and try different things and I like to “doctor up” cake and cookie and brownie box mixes, but this attempt with enhancing the corn mix by adding some vanilla extract, just didn’t work out.
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